Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Scaled Down for Xbox 360 and PS3

It looks as if Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is being optimized for next-gen consoles, while the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game are going to have to deal with some minor setbacks.

According to IGN, Michael de Plater, design director of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, stated that parts of Mordor's Nemesis System are going to have to be cut from the game's current-gen editions. The design director made it clear that the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are the focus on development, while trying to channel over as much content as they can for the current-gen systems. Unfortunately, the Nemesis System, where you strategically pick apart Sauron's armies piece-by-piece and every action bears some sort of repercussion in hindsight, is going to have to be scaled down. Fortunately, the core gameplay mechanics should remain unchanged for the current-gen edition.

"We’re very focused on the PS4 and Xbox One,” Plater said. “We’re focusing on the next-gen platforms, and then going to do whatever we can to get as much as possible on current-gen... The story will be the same and the core gameplay will be the same, but [the 'Nemesis system' is] just so huge in terms of content, calculations and AI we’ll just have to try and get as much of it in as we can."

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor should be arriving later this year for PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.